As Maryland’s medical cannabis program approaches an important milestone, the attorneys with Offit Kurman’s Cannabis Practice Group are ready to serve the first slate of the State’s medical cannabis businesses. This Friday, August 5, 2016, the Maryland Medical Cannabis Commission will announce Stage One cultivation and processor license awardees, whose names will become public no later than August 15.

Stage One licensees will be tasked with obtaining or confirming zoning approvals, commencing construction on facilities, and hiring staff, among other responsibilities. These organizations may move on to Stage Two and become fully operational medical cannabis businesses after completing a number of due diligence and regulatory inspections.

Offit Kurman, a 125+ attorney, full-service business law firm with four offices across the State of Maryland, has assembled a multidisciplinary team of attorneys ready to help cannabis businesses commence operations quickly and in compliance with local, State, and federal law. The firm’s Cannabis Practice Group offers a full suite of legal, compliance, and advisory services to cannabis businesses. The group leverages decades of legal experience to assist clients with matters such as regulatory compliance, real estate, tax guidance, land use and zoning, intellectual property, security, health care and privacy, and employment and training issues.

In addition to its legal services, Offit Kurman’s cannabis practice provides networking and educational opportunities for “cannabusiness” owners and entrepreneurs. Local cannabusinesses are invited to attend periodic industry events and speaking engagements organized or coordinated with the firm’s cannabis attorneys, and to join the firm’s affinity group chapters in Maryland and Pennsylvania. Through blog posts, articles, video interviews, and The Cannabusiness Key—a bi-monthly webinar series hosted by cannabis attorney and thought leader Darren Weiss—Offit Kurman’s cannabis attorneys strive to provide high quality, readily available educational materials and resources to clients and the cannabis industry in general.

“The cannabis industry is unfortunately plagued by a plethora of incorrect and incomplete information,” said Jonathan Wachs,Cannabis Practice Group co-founder and chair of Kurman’s Intellectual Property Group. “Regarding essential formation and operation issues such as compliance, investor agreements, and asset protection, businesses in this industry cannot afford to rely on overgeneralized guidance or information.”

Darren Weiss, co-founder of Offit Kurman’s Cannabis Practice Group added: “We adhere to the philosophy that a rising tide lifts all boats, and believe that releasing quality and timely educational information and resources helps not just our clients but the industry as a whole.”

To learn more about Offit Kurman’s Cannabis Practice Group, see a list of services provided, register for upcoming events, and get the latest news and guidance about the burgeoning medical cannabis industry, click here.

ABOUT JONATHAN WACHS

Jonathan Wachs provides strategic counseling and operational advice to clients in the areas of intellectual property, commercial transactions and outsourced legal departments. As head of the firm’s Intellectual Property Group, Mr. Wachs works closely with clients to develop, register, analyze, enforce, and transfer intellectual property assets in a customized, cost-efficient, and highly effective manner. Additionally, he conducts intellectual property audits through which clients learn the nature and value of their intellectual property assets and the steps needed to protect such assets from misappropriation or dilution. As a business lawyer, he has successfully negotiated and completed several multimillion dollar business transactions and has served as general counsel to several small and midsize businesses and organizations in various industries and professions. He also manages a blog about intellectual property issues, Friday Factoids. Mr. Wachs co-manages New Paradigm Counsel, a service through which Offit Kurman delivers customized, comprehensive and cost-effective outsourced legal departments. Through New Paradigm Counsel, Jon served as outsourced general counsel for a government contractor, a large printing business, a payment processing company and an identity theft restoration business.

ABOUT DARREN H. WEISS

A frequent author and speaker on legal issues affecting the medical cannabis industry, Darren H. Weiss is a medical cannabis thought leader and a seasoned business counselor and litigator. Mr. Weiss, an attorney with the law firm Offit Kurman, PA, has built his practice working with businesses to maintain, preserve, and protect their most valuable assets. A passionate and experienced legal advocate, Mr. Weiss’s practice focuses on medical cannabis and employment law. His cannabis law practice includes regulatory and compliance work, business transactions and corporate guidance, and labor and employment. Mr. Weiss’s employment practice spans from advice and counsel to defense of collective and class action litigation, charges of harassment and discrimination, and enforcement of restrictive covenants. Mr. Weiss represents clients in a wide variety of industries, including medical care, manufacturing, professional services, and financial services.

ABOUT OFFIT KURMAN

Offit Kurman is one of the fastest-growing, full-service law firms in the Mid-Atlantic region. With over 120 attorneys offering a comprehensive range of services in virtually every legal category, the firm is well positioned to meet the needs of dynamic businesses and the people who own and operate them. Our eight offices serve individual and corporate clients in the Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, and Northern Virginia markets, as well as the Washington DC, Baltimore, Philadelphia, and New York City metropolitan areas. At Offit Kurman, we are our clients’ most trusted legal advisors, professionals who help maximize and protect business value and personal wealth. In every interaction, we consistently maintain our clients’ confidence by remaining focused on furthering their objectives and achieving their goals in an efficient manner. Trust, knowledge, confidence—in a partner, that’s perfect.

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